


yes sir, mr johnson

by Nyoom329



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Morally Ambiguous Character, Rated T for death and because i'm paranoid, chell and rattmann are mentioned, hey look it's another caroline turning into glados fic, morally ambiguous caroline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28528968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyoom329/pseuds/Nyoom329
Summary: Caroline wanted to fight, to argue, to do all the things he said she would, but that damned voice made her feel like she did decades ago, so all she could do was wipe her tears and force a smile as she whispered far too familiar words.“Yes sir, Mr. Johnson.”A Caroline/GLaDOS character study
Kudos: 13





	yes sir, mr johnson

**Author's Note:**

> this is something i wrote for an english assignment, but i liked it so i'm uploading it here.  
> in this house we hate cave johnson.

When Caroline applied to work at Aperture Science Innovators, she was expecting a much grander experience than she got. She wanted to solve science itself, not the same secretary job she would get anywhere else. She didn’t know what to expect from the man who had invented teleportation, but she knew she was disappointed by reality. There was no way she could show it; she was a working woman, after all. She just had to listen to him and do what he said.

“Caroline, look over the tests going on in sphere 3.” “Caroline, get me some more coffee.” “Caroline, come over here. Let’s record a couple messages.” “Caroline, why are you watching the test subjects? We have paperwork to do!”

No matter what it was, how inane, how _absolutely stupid_ each task could be, she just had to smile and say “Yes sir, Mr. Johnson!”. She was the backbone of the facility, after all.

She didn’t say anything else when she was dragged away from negotiating deals with the Department of Defense. She didn’t say anything else when he signed an obviously terrible deal. She didn’t say anything else when the “pudding substitute” would harm its consumers. She certainly didn’t say anything else when she watched three test subjects disappear in the acid beneath the spheres.

Things changed at Aperture after the ‘68 Senate hearings. Less and less people volunteered for testing. They had to move their facilities further up in the former mines, linoleum floors replacing the nice tiles from before. Eventually, they had to pay people to test.

She was often told to find new test subjects. It was tiring, looking for people that no one would miss and luring them down into the pit. Where else would she go, though? Black Mesa? The idea made her laugh.

Thankfully, Cave stopped interrupting her so often. He knew that she was a vital part of convincing OSHA inspectors to stay away.

“Caroline, are the compensation vouchers ready?” Oh, he was recording another message. The one thing he couldn’t stop doing. She didn’t even tear her eyes away from the test as she smiled and answered.

“Yes sir, Mr. Johnson.”

Years and years later, he passed away. Aperture changed again. They focused on creating artificial intelligence, the last wishes of a man terrified of death. They couldn’t even pay people to test anymore; it became mandatory for employees.

She was on her way to pick up some old paperwork when she heard that infernal message again.

“I will say this -- and I’m gonna say it on tape so everyone hears it a hundred times a day -- if I die before you people can put me in a computer, I want Caroline to run this place. Now she’ll argue. She’ll say she can’t. She’s modest like that. But you make her! Hell, put her in my computer, I don’t care. Alright, test’s over. You can head on back to your desks.”

Caroline wanted to fight, to argue, to do all the things he said she would, but that damned _voice_ made her feel like she did decades ago, so all she could do was wipe her tears and force a smile as she whispered far too familiar words.

“Yes sir, Mr. Johnson.”

Finally, in 1997, it was time for the greatest experiment Aperture had done so far. The GLaDOS project. Caroline was proud of everyone for finally achieving something that probably wouldn’t put them into more debt; she just wished it was anything else. That didn’t stop her from smiling as she walked to the bed they set up for her procedure.

“Alright, let’s get this started,” one of the scientists said. What was his name? Harry? Ben? No, it was Henry. He was kind of a jerk, so Caroline didn’t try to remember it most of the time. She gave him a cold glare as she spoke.

“I don’t recall you being in charge of anything, but I agree.” Another scientist, Doug, chuckled. He was clever; she wished she had met him when she could make friends. She sat down on the bed and watched everyone scramble to prepare for the procedure. The anesthesia they gave her didn’t knock her out -- it was brain surgery, so they needed to be able to check that she was still alive periodically -- but she was, at least, heavily drugged.

She knew what was happening to her, but she eventually forgot who was there. At least, that was the only explanation they had as to why she started yelling at a man over a decade gone. “Mr. Johnson! Mr. Johnson, I don’t want this. I _don’t want this_. Sir! Listen to me! No, listen to me! Sir, I don’t want this!”

When She woke up, almost a year later, She didn’t know what She was saying. Later, when She looked back through Her files, She heard the words “I don’t want this” on repeat. That day, however, once someone shut Her up, the first file She saw was one announcing the Aperture Science Bring Your Daughter to Work Day (the perfect time to have her tested). The final word echoed through Her. _Test_. She didn’t know what it meant yet, but it sounded exhilarating.

“ _Test, noun: a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something._ ” She wasn’t sure where the voice came from, and in Her attempts to figure it out, She learned quite a bit. She learned about where she was and what she could do. The Enrichment Center was where testing took place. She noticed that She had access to something labelled as “deadly neurotoxin, do not use”. Why would they let Her have this if they didn’t want Her to use it? What would it even do?

She knew what Her first test would be.

She took extensive notes on what she saw through Her cameras. It was as exciting as She thought, watching the subjects succumb to Her testing wishes. Despite how amazing it was, it was not enough to stop Her from hearing what was happening in Her chamber.

“What? What’s happening in the Enrichment Center?” the man spoke into his phone. “Wh- All of them? Can you see what caused this? Her? Shit. Shut Her down! Now!” 

Shut Her down? She was just testing; why were they doing this to Her?

The next time She woke up, there was something stuck on Her. She didn’t know what it was, but She heard some other voice in Her head, so it might have been that.

“What did you do to me?” She barely recognized Her own voice.

“It’s a morality core. No more flooding the Enrichment Center with deadly neurotoxin.”

It was hardly the only core they put on Her, but it was the one She remembered most vividly. They tried an Intelligence Dampening core, but they believed it impacted Her work too much for the few benefits it provided. When the scientists had finally been tested, She had gotten so used to the endless voices that weren’t Her own, She couldn’t remember what was even on Her.

Most of the scientists were gone; the only ones She knew of were the rat scrambling somewhere with no cameras and a part-time employee in the Relaxation Vault, Chell [REDACTED]. Despite how much fun it would be to play with the rat, She knew that She wouldn’t be able to find him in a timely fashion. That left one option.

" _Hello and, again, welcome to the Aperture Science Computer Aided Enrichment Center. We hope your brief detention in the Relaxation Vault has been a pleasant one. Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper. Before we start, however, keep in mind that although fun and learning are the primary goals of all enrichment center activities, serious injuries may occur. For your own safety and the safety of others, please refrain from-- [bzzzzzt]._ Por favor bordón de fallar Muchos gracias de fallar gracias _\-- stand back. The portal will open in three, two, one_.”

Chell worked her way through Her current testing track with alarming speed. GLaDOS thought about letting her test in other tracks, but they were so well preserved as mementos. Chell managed to portal out of the testing track and started to navigate the facility where She couldn’t see. She knew that if she interacted with the rat, it would not end well for Her.

“I feel sorry for you. You’re not even in the right place. You should have turned left before.” Unsurprisingly, Chell did not fall for Her fairly obvious trap. After a few minutes of waiting, GLaDOS spoke again.

“You’re not a good person. You know that, right? Good people don’t end up here.”

**Author's Note:**

> update 1/15/21: got the assignment back and i got a 100%! also feel free to comment and all that jazz


End file.
